April 17 (Bloomberg) -- Malcolm Young, a founding member
and guitarist in Scottish-Australian rock band AC/DC, will take
a break from playing due to ill health, while the group has
pledged to keep making music.

Australian media reported this week that Young, 61, may
have returned to the country with his family and was so ill he
was unlikely to play in the band again. The Sydney Morning
Herald said the group was likely to disband after 41 years.

“The band will continue to make music,” AC/DC said in a
short statement on its website. “After forty years of life
dedicated to AC/DC, guitarist and founding member Malcolm Young
is taking a break from the band due to ill health.”

The chart-topping hard-rock group was formed in Sydney in
1973 by Young and brother Angus, 59, famous for his school-boy
outfits, who had moved to Australia from Scotland in 1963. Their
string of international hits include ‘Thunderstruck,’ ‘Hells
Bells,’ ‘It’s a Long Way to The Top’ and ‘Who Made Who.’

AC/DC suffered tragedy in February 1980 when singer Bon
Scott died of alcohol poisoning in London, just as the group was
building an international reputation. He was replaced by
Englishman Brian Johnson who sang vocals on the subsequent ‘Back
in Black’ album, AC/DC’s biggest-selling. The band has sold more
than 200 million albums.

AC/DC’s statement said “Malcolm would like to thank the
group’s diehard legions of fans worldwide for their never-ending
love and support.” The band asked that “Malcolm and his
family’s privacy be respected during this time.”